A door opener that does not require the use of an operator's hands offers a distinct sanitary advantage in hospitals and other medical facilities, in public restrooms and especially in restrooms of restaurants and other food service establishments where patrons do not want their hands to contact restroom doorknobs or handles.
Depending upon use, personnel doors are generally equipped with one of two types of handles: those with built-in latches to permit locking or those without positive latches. The present invention relates to those passage type doors and doors of cabinets and other enclosures which do not use positive latching means. Closure devices or tension type latches on doors do not interfere with use of the current opener.
Ideally, non-latching, passage doors that swing in two directions could be used in sanitary sensitive establishments so that a person's forearm, elbow or foot, rather than his hand, could be used to push a door open from either side; however, this is not advisable due to safety considerations. Building codes do not permit doors to be installed that swing outwardly into hallways or other common areas since a person in the hallway could be injured by the unexpected opening of a door. Unless a special alcove is constructed, most doors are installed to swing inwardly into a room. These doors can be pushed open only from their outward or passageway side; therefore some type of gripping device is required to open these doors from the inside.
Except for electronically operated doors which are expensive to install and maintain, no practical means for opening a passage door in a sanitary manner from its inwardly swinging side has been described in prior art. Consequently, a need exists for a safe, manually operated, sanitary, door opener that does not require the use of an operator's hand.